National Basketball Analyst Ranks West Virginia No. 9 in Big 12

National basketball analyst Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports has released his power rankings for the Big 12. Rothstein has West Virginia coming in at No. 9 out of the 14-team conference.

Rothstein’s Big 12 Rankings:

1. Kansas

2. Houston

3. Texas

4. Baylor

5. TCU

6. Kansas State

7. Texas Tech

8. Iowa State

9. West Virginia

10. Oklahoma State

11. Cincinnati

12. Oklahoma

13. BYU

14. UCF

Rothstein provided a projected depth chart for each school. For West Virginia, Rothstein’s rotation includes the newly committed Quinn Slazinski from Iona and St. John’s.

Rothstein’s WVU Depth Chart:

Kerr Kriisa (G)

Seth Wilson (G)

Jose Perez (G)

Quinn Slazinski (F)

Jesse Edwards (C)

Projected Bench: Omar Silverio, RaeQuan Battle (needs NCAA waiver), Jeremiah Bembry, Patrick Suemnick, Kobe Johnson, Josiah Harris

Rothstein considered Kriisa and Edwards to be impact players with Perez as an under-the-radar transfer.

Right now in July, the ranking of West Virginia is fair from Rothstein. WVU’s coaching staff has had to retool this roster for the second time this offseason after Bob Huggins resigned last month. West Virginia is still waiting on waivers to pass for Battle and Silverio. If both are approved by the NCAA, the Mountaineers may receive more respect around college basketball.